Momentum is building to change a little-known law that makes it virtually illegal to move wine across provincial border.
The 1928 Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act forbids transporting wine to another province without first consigning it with the destination province's liquor authority.
"Technically, it's actually illegal to purchase a litre of wine [in B.C.] and take it with you if you live in Alberta," said Lindsay Anders of the B.C. Wine Institute.
Kelowna MP Ron Cannan has entered a private member's motion to amend that act and remove the provincial barriers to Canada's wine industry.
"What we're trying to do is engage the provinces with the federal government to bring this archaic legislation into the 21st century," Cannan told CTV News from Ottawa.
In the Okanagan, the law is frustrating to winemakers, who can't ship their product to other provinces.
"That's the stupidity of the law. The stupidity is that Canadians want to be able to buy Canadian goods," Tony Stewart of Quail's Gate Winery said.
Andy Gebert at St. Hubertus Winery agrees. "I think it's sad if, as Canadians, you can't have the wine in your own country. I love to try wines from Nova Scotia or from Ontario," he said.
Cannan's motion to amend the law has the support of the Canadian Vintners Association and key federal ministers, but an amendment would require a lot of inter-provincial negotiation, and so far most provinces have expressed no interest in changing the law.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Kent Molgat
